2022 Minimalist nest design award

Finalist 1 – Tawny Towers (left)
Architect: Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
Location:  Horizontal branch, Flowerdale
Materials:   Twigs, loosely dropped into place, grass and leaf lining
Affordability:   3 stars – minimal use of materials, all recycled
Stability:   1 star – very flimsy, easily blown down in a storm

Finalist 2 – Plover Pad (below)
Architect: Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)
Location:   Middle of the Flowerdale Recreation Reserve
Materials:  A few sticks of grass laid out on the ground
Affordability:   4 stars – very minimal use of materials, all recycled
Stability: 3 stars – can’t fall down, minimally camouflaged, could be stepped on

Finalist 3 – Dotterel’s Dive (above)
Architect: Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Location: Middle of the amphitheatre, Euroa Arboretum
Materials: nothing, a depression in the rocks
Affordability: 5 stars – you get what you pay for!
Stability: 5 stars – built of stone, can’t fall down, highly camouflaged

And the winner is … the Black-fronted Dotterel. Congratulations. An honorable mention goes to the Bush-stone Curlew and the Plains Wanderer.